NEW ORLEANS DOWN THE HATCH: A CABARET IN TWO COCKTAILS: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Running With Scissors stalwarts Bob Edes Jr. and New Orleans food historian and author Elizabeth Pearce recount the story of New Orleans in spirit and song. The $20 ticket includes a complimentary taste of featured cocktails. Tickets: 504.581.5812

The Times-Picayune ArchiveElizabeth Pearce, who developed a cocktail exhibit for the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, stars in a cocktail cabaret performance this weekend.

. . . . . . . .

SoFAB EVENTS: Saturday from 2-4 p.m., learn "All About Louisiana Crawfish" with Join Richard Johnson of the Louisiana AgCenter. Cost is $10 museum admission. See www.southernfood.org for more information.

. . . . . . . .

THIRD ANNUAL FUNDRAISING PARTY: Eat! Drink! SoFAB! Tailgating is Aug. 8 from 3-6 p.m. for a casual celebration of tailgating. Local chefs will make sophisticated riffs on tailgate favorites, and local athletes will be on hand to sign autographs. Tickets, $75, are available at www.southernfood.org. The Southern Food and Beverage Museum is located in Riverwalk Marketplace, Julia St. entrance.

. . . . . . . .

LIVE TO EAT DINNERS: An array of New Orleans restaurants, from Phil's Grill to Restaurant August, will offer special menus for a We Live to Eat promotion every Thursday evening in August. Some of the prices are as low as $15.99, and some offer beer, wine or cocktail pairings. We Live to Eat is a promotion of the Louisiana Restaurant Association. For a list of participating restaurants and some menus, go to www.welivetoeatnola.com.

. . . . . . . .

LOUISIANA EATS: The radio program airing Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at noon on WWNO 89.9 FM will feature chef Tenney Flynn of GW Fins preparing trout meuniere using fresh speckled trout. The show visits Ashley Hanson at her family's 71-year-old snowball stand.

. . . . . . . .

SEAFOOD COOKOFF TICKETS AVAILABLE: Whole Foods Markets is selling tickets for the Aug. 7 Great American Seafood Cook-Off, a national competition pitting chefs cooking seafood from 14 states. Doors open at Hall J of the Morial Convention Center at 11 a.m., and the King of American Seafood will be crowned at 4:30 p.m. A one-day pass is $5; a three-day pass is $10. Other events are the Seafood Soiree on Sunday and the 4-H Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off Monday. All ticket sales benefit the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation. More information: www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com.

TUJAGUE'S DINNER FOR P&J SHUCKERS: Tujague's and a number of vendors will host a Sept. 16 dinner with wine 6:30 p.m. to benefit the shuckers from shuttered P&J Oyster Co. All proceeds will go to shuckers out of work. Cost is $125 all inclusive. Reservations: 504.525.8676.

. . . . . . . .

SIMPLY SUMMER MENU: The Grill Room's $39 Simply Summer menu is a choice of appetizers, entrées and desserts available through Sept. 30. The menu is available all night Sunday through Thursday, and from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Special wine pairings are available. Reservation: http://www.grillroomneworleans.comor call 504.522.1994.